Danny Phantom Fan Fiction ❯ Phantom or Fenton? ❯ Just Friends?! ( Chapter 4 )

Just Friends?!

 

Samantha glanced back between the classroom door and the work before her all through her morning lecture. Daniel had been gone for almost the whole class now, something had to be wrong. The look on his face, so much pain and anguish. Samantha wished there was something she could have done, followed him at least but it was too late, the best thing she could do was wait until after class and look for him then.

 

Twenty minutes later when the professor ended class Samantha was more than ready to leave the room. Unfortunately, Daniel's stunt gave Samantha a little more attention that she bargained for.

 

“You know the Fenton kid?” A voice piped.

 

Samantha mentally groaned as she turned to Paulina, one of her close `friends' and nodded. “Yeah I know Danny.”

 

“Ooh, on a first name basis already are we?” The dark skinned girl next to Paulina quipped.

 

Samantha sighed turning to put her book into her pack, “It's not like that Val and you know it.”

 

“Yeah, why settle for Daniel when you have someone like Dash at your side?” Paulina asked in a dreamy voice.

 

Samantha bit back a groan and just nodded again, getting up to leave.

 

“Hey, are we still on for Saturday at the country club?” Valerie asked.

 

Samantha waving over her shoulder as she walked out the door was her only response.

 

~*~*~

 

Samantha sighed as she looked back to find Valerie and Paulina walking of in another direction, she was hopping they wouldn't follow her as she was looking for Daniel. Samantha had known both Valerie and Paulina for four years now, two of which she spent on their `geek' level. Things changed when Samantha entered college and the truth of her heritage was reveled. A soon as the dollar signs were tossed in the air Valerie and Paulina were all over Samantha like a bad rash.

 

Before Samantha took over as the most popular girl in school the title belonged to Paulina. Now that the tables were turned things before the pair were very…stiff. No mean words where said but, then again, actions speak louder than words. Whenever Samantha's family bought something new, Paulina had to find some way to top or match them. She had to have everything Samantha had or better even, as if material things made her special.

 

With Valerie the shift over to friends wasn't so complicated. Before they never really talked but there was no hostility between the two. If anything, Samantha's new status brought her and Valerie closer. They were her closets friends but not true friends. Neither of them knew of the real Samantha Manson.

 

~*~*~

 

It had been a good thirty minutes before Samantha found Daniel again. He was up on the school's roof looking over all the students who were heading off campus for lunch and other such things. Daniel sat alone, his pack on the ground beside him, sitting on the railing that lined the roof, his feet dangling off the bars. Quietly, Samantha walked up beside him and reached out to touch his shoulder only to stop herself halfway there. With a sigh, she dropped her pack next to his and hopped up over the railing beside him. The pair sat like that for over an hour, it wasn't until Daniel finally spoke that Samantha realize she had dozed off into her own thoughts.

 

“I guess you want an explanation for what happened back there?” Daniel asked shifting to swing back over the railing.

 

Samantha spun around on the railing but didn't jump off. “No, it's your life Danny, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to…”

 

Daniel looked over his shoulder at her and smiled, “Thanks Sam. That's the very reason I feel like I can tell you. You don't care about the rumors, I knew that when you cam looking for me.”

 

Samantha blushed prettily but said nothing silently urging Daniel to continue.

 

“When I was fourteen my parents built this strange machine, it was built to be a kind of portal into the world of ghost,” Samantha got a weird look on her face. “Yeah I know it sounds silly but it's their passion.” He shrugged.

 

“Well the portal didn't work, not really. They gave up, just like that. You should have seen how devastated they were Sam. It killed me to see them like that. So, against my better judgment, I went down into the basement late at night to check it out myself. Turns out it was working but a switch inside needed to be turned on.” He sighed as began to pace along the width of the rooftop.

 

“I don't know what I was thinking, or if I was thinking at all. But I didn't realize the machine was still plugged in when I went in there. I saw the switch and I turned it on.”

 

Samantha stared at him. It didn't take a genius to guess what happened to Daniel.

 

“There was this great big flash…that was all I remember. The next thing I know I'm waking up in the hospital. The doctor's never really found out what was wrong with me but in a few weeks I was able to leave, good as new.” Daniel shrugged.

 

“When word got out that something had happened to me in my folk's lab, things spun outta control. People started saying these terrible things about my family; how they experimented on me and my sister, how they were evil and needed psychological help. Nothing my family said or did helped so, after a while we just packed up and left…” He ended his tale.

 

Samantha hopped off the railing then and walked over to Daniel, her eyes glossed over with unshed tears. “Oh, Danny, I'm so sorry, so sorry.” Shaking her head she wiped away her tears before they could fall. Then, without any warning what-so-ever, she hugged him.

 

For a long moment Daniel stood completely still, too shocked to even move or comprehend what Samantha had done. Daniel had never been hugged by a girl like that, it was a new experience for him. But as the warmth of her body seeped into his own he smiled softly and returned the hug. It was moments like this where he realized just how lucky he was to stumbled onto Samantha that evening in a crowded bar.

 

Inwardly, he kicked himself for not trusting her with the whole truth…no that wasn't it, he trusted her; it was himself he didn't trust. He was just too afraid of rejection. Not now, not when hugging her like this felt so good…he would have to keep his secret from her, for now.

 

~*~*~

 

Daniel and Samantha walked into the cafeteria side by side that evening after their last class. As fate would have it they ended up in just about every class together. How weird was that? But they didn't think much of it other than it gave them a chance to talk and share more.

 

Off in the distance, Samantha noticed Dashiel, Paulina and Valerie sitting together with a few other popular students. Once spotted ,it was hard not to be called over to their table. Daniel gave Samantha a sheepish smile as she rolled her eyes and dragged him over to the table with her.

 

“Hey, guys, having a late lunch?” Samantha asked sitting down next to Dashiel, Daniel taking the seat across from her and next to Valerie.

 

“Samantha, aren't you going to introduce us to your new little friend?” Paulina asked flashing Daniel her best smile.

 

Samantha smiles ever so sweetly, a little too sweet even. “Oh, forgive me. Guys this is Daniel Fenton. Danny, meet Valerie, Paulina and you know Dash.”

 

Daniel smiles and waved to the girls but not Dashiel as he ignored the greeting completely and began to pull Samantha into deep conversation about one thing or another. Daniel frown as he watched the pair out of the corner of his eye. He didn't understand them, Samantha was obviously not herself around him, she giggled and flirted back and forth with him about absolutely nothing. Now, he was no expert on the girl but her personality did a complete 180 when she was with her friends.

`I'll have to ask her about that' Her mentally reminded himself. But when they talked that one night at the club they talked about everything ranging from politics to who won the World Cup.

 

A tap on his shoulder brought Daniel to a smiling Valerie. “So Danny, is it, what are you into?”

 

It took a second for Daniel to catch on to what she was talking about, “Oh I'm a science major, astrology mostly.”

 

“Ah! A spaceman, well that sounds like fun…”

 

`What's she acting all chummy with Danny for?' Samantha questioned as she half listened to Dashiel go over their plans for the weekend again. He was taking her to Paulina's country club and wanted to know exactly what she would be wearing so they could match. She cringed at the very thought.

 

Beep! Beep! Beep!

 

Daniel looked down at his watching suddenly and jumped from his seat. “Sorry guys, I just remembered I have to run.” He looked to Samantha. “I'll catch you later Sam.”

 

He moved to leave the table when Valerie caught him by the shoulder. “Wait up Danny, I want to give you something.” She pulled out a pen from her purse and wrote down seven digits in the palm of his hand. “Don't lose that okay?” She winked at him.

 

Daniel's cheeks turned a light pink. “S-sure.”

 

Samantha glared at Valerie until Daniel was well out the doors of the cafeteria. “What was that all about Val?”

 

Valerie blinked innocently back at Samantha. “What? I can't give a cute guy my number?”

 

Samantha scoffed, “Oh please, just a few hours ago you wanted nothing to do with him!”

 

Valerie couldn't believe her ears, “How do you know what I was thinking, huh? Is it a crime to like a guy now?”

 

Samantha shook her head, “No I just find it a bit strange that you'd like a guy like Danny.”

 

“A guy like Danny? Wha-”

 

“And that's another thing, since when are you so informal with anybody?”

 

“Whoa, cool your jets Samantha. I think your making a big deal out of nothing. Valerie can give her number to any guy she want to.” Dashiel said trying to cool down his girlfriend.

 

Paulina chucked bringing everyone's attention to her again, “If I didn't know any better I'd guess you were jealous of Valerie, Samantha, but that can't be…you have Dash, don't you?”

 

Samantha watched as the calm look on Dashiel's face swiftly changed to a look of pain and jealousy. She didn't need a mirror to know her face was turning red in embarrassment either.

 

“Sam-”

 

“I'm going to take a walk!” Samantha announced before Dashiel could give her the third degree…again.

 

~*~*~

 

“I can't believe her! Ooh that Paulina, how is it that she can always get under my skin like that? Why am I even friends with her?” Samantha muttered to herself as she walked down the street. She was several block away from campus now and to be truthfully honest she didn't feel like going back to face Dashiel.

 

Her stomach voiced a different option on the matter. Samantha grimaced, she hadn't finished her lunch.

 

“Great, now what am I going to do?” She sighed blowing her bangs out of her eyes. “Today's just not my day.”

 

She snapped her fingers as a thought came to her, “There should be a Nasty Burger around her somewhere if I remember correctly. I haven't eaten there in ages but I do remember them serving a good Soy Melt.” Putting her previous thoughts behind her, Samantha set off in search of a Nasty Burger.

 

She found one not too far away from the school at all, it was in a pretty good walking distance. Faint memories a much easier time flashed in her mind as she walked through the large glass doors and up to the counter.

 

“Welcome to Nasty Burger, how may I help you?” The guy behind the register asked.

 

“I'll have a Soy Melt, please.”

 

“Right away ma'am.” He looked up to accept her cash and their eyes met.

 

“Sam?”

 

“Danny?”

 

Samantha was the first to react, she laughed. “We have got to stop meeting like this.”

 

Daniel chuckled and nodded as he accepted her money. “What brings you here, I thought I left you having lunch?”

 

Samantha looked away at his remark biting her lower lip, “Yeah, about that, I want to apologize Danny-”

 

“No it's okay, I was just as shocked as you were but Valerie seems like a nice girl, then again you would know better than me, she's your friend.”

 

Samantha nodded, the guilt of her harsh words to Valerie weighing down on her shoulders. “Yeah, I better go apologize to her the next time I see her.”

 

Daniel was going to reply to her when he shivered all of a sudden and before his eyes, a barely noticeable wisp of blue smoke came out of his mouth.

 

`Oh no, not now of all times and places!' He thought looking over Samantha's shoulder at a ghost who was fazing through the restaurant's back wall.

 

TBC…

Questions?

Comments?

Concerns?

…Flames? ^^;

 

 

 

General Notes: .

 

+ It's been long, too long, since I updated this but life gets in the way and it demands all of your attention.

+ Looks like there's some friction between Val and Sam, noting to out of the ordinary, no?

+Well then since this so bloody late I decided to let Phantom show up a little earlier than I had first planed but it still fits my original plot.

+The next chapter holds a fight scene, another flash back that explains Danny's discovery of one of his powers.

+ Can you guess which one it is? I hope to have a kind of flashback like that for all of Danny's powers. *crosses fingers* I hope I can keep the ideas flowing XDD

 

DA Notes:

I have TWO beta readers for PoF! Yay I'm so happy, thank you RPSpartan & LucidKrypton for lending me your time *huggles*